<p>The raw sewage being pumped into rivers and seas in England has become a seismic election issue. The musician turned environmentalist Feargal Sharkey joins the FT’s Lucy Fisher, George Parker and Robert Shrimsley to assess how we got here, while the FT’s infrastructure correspondent Gill Plimmer analyses Thames Water’s woes. Plus, the team looks at scandals in Westminster and considers how much William Wragg’s honeytrap debacle and allegations that Angela Rayner failed to pay the right tax on a former house sale – which she denies – might damage their parties’ chances in this election year.</p><br><p>Since recording, Greater Manchester Police have launched an investigation into allegations that Angela Rayner potentially broke electoral law by failing to properly disclose her main residence in official documents.</p><br><p>Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, Robert @robertshrimsley, George @GeorgeWParker, Gill @gillplimmer1, Feargal @Feargal_Sharkey,</p><br><p><em>Want more? Free links:</em></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/4cVVHzC" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The great stink of Thames Water</a></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/3Ji5Cln" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Raw sewage discharges in England and Wales hit record levels&nbsp;</a></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/3Jb0oI9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">UK seeks to quell public anger on sewage with £11mn restoration fund&nbsp;</a></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/49G31MY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Senior MP quits Tory parliamentary party amid sexting scandal</a></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/3PVUoqc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Labour’s Angela Rayner refuses to publish tax records as police probe house sale</a></p><br><p>Sign up <a href="https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/inside-politics/trial" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Audrey Tinline with Leah Qiunn. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner.&nbsp;The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.&nbsp;</p><br><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/622c4632-3c84-472a-b49c-8d9438d0b27b" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</strong></a></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Political Fix

Financial Times

The great stink of England’s sewage crisis

APR 12, 202431 MIN
Political Fix

The great stink of England’s sewage crisis

APR 12, 202431 MIN

Description

<p>The raw sewage being pumped into rivers and seas in England has become a seismic election issue. The musician turned environmentalist Feargal Sharkey joins the FT’s Lucy Fisher, George Parker and Robert Shrimsley to assess how we got here, while the FT’s infrastructure correspondent Gill Plimmer analyses Thames Water’s woes. Plus, the team looks at scandals in Westminster and considers how much William Wragg’s honeytrap debacle and allegations that Angela Rayner failed to pay the right tax on a former house sale – which she denies – might damage their parties’ chances in this election year.</p><br><p>Since recording, Greater Manchester Police have launched an investigation into allegations that Angela Rayner potentially broke electoral law by failing to properly disclose her main residence in official documents.</p><br><p>Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, Robert @robertshrimsley, George @GeorgeWParker, Gill @gillplimmer1, Feargal @Feargal_Sharkey,</p><br><p><em>Want more? Free links:</em></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/4cVVHzC" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The great stink of Thames Water</a></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/3Ji5Cln" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Raw sewage discharges in England and Wales hit record levels&nbsp;</a></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/3Jb0oI9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">UK seeks to quell public anger on sewage with £11mn restoration fund&nbsp;</a></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/49G31MY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Senior MP quits Tory parliamentary party amid sexting scandal</a></p><br><p><a href="https://on.ft.com/3PVUoqc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Labour’s Angela Rayner refuses to publish tax records as police probe house sale</a></p><br><p>Sign up <a href="https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/inside-politics/trial" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Audrey Tinline with Leah Qiunn. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner.&nbsp;The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.&nbsp;</p><br><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/622c4632-3c84-472a-b49c-8d9438d0b27b" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</strong></a></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>